Museums & art

Several spectacular collections of Native American art celebrate the rich cultural diversity of the region:

The Oregon History Museum houses one of the largest photo archives west of the Mississippi, documenting the changing landscape of the West over the last two centuries. The museum is also home to a vast array of Native American basketry, beadwork and carvings.

The Portland Art Museum displays traditional carving, basketry, paintings and sculpture from tribes throughout the Northwest. The museum’s Native American Art Council hosts lectures and public displays by local and regional artists throughout the year.

Many shops and galleries in Portland feature Indian art, jewelry, crafts and food products. One established gallery is Arthur Erickson Fine Arts in downtown.

The various tribal museums, with their permanent and changing exhibits, strive to show not only who Native Americans of Oregon were before contact with Caucasians, but who they are today and who they plan to be in the future.

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